Insane netbook to sliding keyboard tablet hack in progress
Sliding keyboards aren’t exactly one of my favorite designs, but I give c0ff33 on the InsanelyWind forum credit for taking it in what I think is a smart direction and trying to get it done on his hacked MSI Wind tablet.
Nothing to see of the slider just yet, but he’s got the display with touchscreen planted on top of the keyboard. The goal is for it to slide up and tilt, making it a convertible with both slate and laptop modes. Makes sense to me. He’s using the MSI Wind keyboard, which is designed for standard touch typing, not thumb typing.
Thinking about this design further, I admit that leaving the screen exposed gives the slider design a perceived disadvantage compared to the twist convertible. But sliding the screen back and up is more convenient than a flip and twist. It also avoids screen reorientation, which can cause problems with graphics and video playback. As slates become more accepted, perhaps the slider convertible will make a comeback.
Via Liliputing
Category: Hardware
About the Author (Author Profile)
My name is Mark Sumimoto; I am Sumocat. I dabble in all areas of mobile computing, but my focus is Windows-based Tablet PCs and pen input. They’ve been part of my arsenal since 2004, and I’m proud to have pioneered the field of ink blogging, earning a spot as a Microsoft MVP for Touch and Tablets in the process. My current tools include a Fujitsu Lifebook T900, TEGA v2, and iPhone 4. Email me: sumocat [at] notebooks.com- Tamas
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